The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation and the Aquatic Resources Education Association released guidelines for recruiting, retaining and reactivating anglers.
The document, Recommendations and Strategic Tools for Effective Angler Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation (R3) Efforts, is the product of a two-year partnership between the groups to develop guidelines for increasing the effectiveness of these efforts nationally.
“These actionable R3 guidelines will go a long way in helping us realize our 60 in 60 goal as they are adopted by state agencies, industry stakeholders and NGOs throughout the fishing and boating community,” RBFF president and CEO Frank Peterson said in a statement.
“By utilizing these comprehensive guidelines, we will be able to create a sustainable base of anglers and boaters for generations to come, leading to more funding for essential conservation programs.”
The groups said the primary goal of the Angler R3 Recommendations is to enable state agencies, non-government organizations and industry stakeholders to assess their angler R3 efforts and address gaps to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their individual and collective work.
The recommendations identify opportunities for state agencies and organizations to improve their capacity to design, implement and evaluate angler R3 efforts; develop strategic angler R3 program priorities; and improve partnerships to collaboratively implement angler R3 efforts.
“AREA is excited to roll out these Angler R3 Recommendations,” AREA past president Barb Gigar said. “They will help our members and other organizations maximize their R3 efforts to get their customers outdoors and connected to our aquatic resources through fishing.”
The Angler R3 Recommendations use the expertise and strategic tools developed by the Wildlife Management Institute and Bob Byrne Consulting for R3 efforts used by the hunting and shooting sports and build on the foundation provided by the RBFF’s Best Practices Workbook for Boating, Fishing and Aquatic Resources Stewardship Education.
The Angler R3 Recommendations were developed with the support and contributions of the Angler R3 State Agency Working Group. It is composed of state fish and wildlife agency education and marketing staff throughout the country with knowledge and experience in developing and implementing R3 efforts.
